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# Cholesterol lowering statin drugs fight breast cancer, diabetes mellitus
- URL: https://www.foodconsumer.org/cholesterol_statins_breast_cancer_diabetes_mellitus_1113130903/
- Published: 2013-11-13T22:02:00.000Z
- Updated: 2026-09-22T15:51:07.000Z
- Description: A study in Advances in Pharmacoepidemiology & Drug Safety suggests cholesterol-lowering statins may improve breast cancer prognosis in women with diabetes. Researchers followed 208 women who had both conditions for a median of 31 months after the cancer diagnosis.
- Author: Food Consumer
- Tags: Drug, Health News, #vivvo-import

Wednesday Nov 13, 2013 (foodconsumer.org) -- Women with diabetes mellitus are at higher risk of breast cancer because diabetes mellitus hallmarks like insulin resistance, high cholesterol, and inflammation are all correlated with elevated breast cancer risk and poorer prognosis.

A new study in Advances in Pharmacoepidemiology & Drug Safety suggests that taking cholesterol lowering statin drugs can improve breast cancer prognosis in women with diabetes mellitus. Prior research has shown that drugs like statin medications can help fight cancer through a few mechanisms including inflammation, immune response, cell migration and apoptosis. 

High cholesterol is linked to high breast cancer risk. The link between high cholesterol and worse prognosis of breast cancer was found as early as in 1981\. Angelos E. Papatestas MD at Mount Sinai Medical Center in New York, NY and colleagues reported in Cancer that women with low serum cholesterol levels had a 58 % increased chance to have a five-year survival compared with those with high cholesterol. 

It is not surprising that the current study found cholesterol lowering statin drugs may help reduce the risk of breast cancer or improve the outcome of the disease.

The current study was intended to evaluate the impact of cholesterol management on the prognosis of breast cancer in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus. Enrolled in the study were 208 eligible women with both breast cancer and diabetes mellitus who were followed up for a median of 31 months from the time breast cancer was diagnosed through the first recurrence, death or date of last contact.

The researchers used multivariate Cox proportional hazards models to analyze the association between use of cholesterol lowering statin drugs and adverse outcomes and found taking cholesterol statin drugs was associated with 465 reduced risk of recurrence, 52% increased overall survival and 35% increased odds of disease free survival, compared with diabetic breast cancer patients who did not take any cholesterol lowering medications.

Also, cholesterol management using statin drugs as a mono-therapy was correlated with 58% improved overall survival and 51% increased odds for disease free survival in breast cancer patients with diabetes mellitus.

The study concludes "Cholesterol lowering therapy significantly improved breast cancer prognosis in women with diabetes mellitus. Though larger studies are needed to confirm this potential added benefit, efforts to ensure that women with breast cancer and diabetes receive guideline-appropriate cholesterol-lowering medications should have significant impact on breast cancer outcomes."

Statin drugs are every effective in lowering cholesterol, but they are not the only medicine that can lower cholesterol. Many dietary supplements are found effective or even equally effective in lowering cholesterol including flaxseed, spirulina, berberine, red yeast rice, vegetarian diet, plant sterols, fiber, vitamin c, artichoke leaf extract, and policosanols.

Diabetes mellitus patients are at high risk for heart disease and other chronic diseases like cancer. An estimated 25 million Americans live with diabetes mellitus. Breast cancer is expected in one out of 8 women in their life time. Each year in the United States, 230,000 women are diagnosed with the disease which kills about 37,000 annually in the country. Breast cancer like diabetes mellitus are in many cases can be prevented. (David Liu, PHD)